Word: vatican
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...celebration of the birth of the Lord is at our doorstep ..." Thus began Pope Benedict XVI in his annual pre-Christmas address to top Vatican officials. But rather than a pro forma holiday wish of good tidings, the pontiff delivered his latest heavy-hitting discourse on everything from ecology to ecumenism, with carefully chosen citations from past Popes and even Friedrich Nietzsche. The topic that most grabbed press attention came about halfway through the 30-minute long address: transsexuals...
...Critics of the Church hierarchy see such pronouncements as proof of Catholicism's unhealthy "obsession" with sexual matters. In his book Sex and Heaven, Catholic writer John Portmann argues that the Vatican has made having "correct sex" the singular virtue for achieving salvation. In just the past month, the Vatican has announced its opposition to a United Nations proposal to protect gays from being criminalized and punished by governments for their orientation, and released a doctrinal office document reinforcing the Church's opposition to assisted fertility and stem cell research...
...clear that the Vatican's top job (for life) is very much occupied by Benedict, 81, who shows every sign of being in good health, and set to lead Catholics through Midnight Mass for many Christmases to come. But Arinze's retirement raises the question of if and when the Catholic Church will be ready to follow the United States in choosing a man with roots in Africa - or anywhere outside of Europe - to lead its ever more diverse flock. Vatican insiders are reticent to name names with Benedict so firmly in command, but there are several prominent clerics likely...
Among the up-and-coming Cardinals from Africa, Vatican watchers cite Peter Turkson of Ghana, 60 and Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, 67 of South Africa, as potential papal material. Archbishop John Onayiekan of Nigeria, who may soon be up for a Cardinal slot, is considered "strong here and back there," says one Rome insider, referring to Onayiekan's knowledge of the Third World and his skills navigating the ins and outs of the Holy...
Still, the Vatican parlor game of trying to envision future papal candidates is slippery business. Perhaps the strongest African candidate of the 20th century was the widely respected Cardinal Bernardin Gantin of Benin, who died in May at the age of 86. Having once headed the powerful Congregation of Bishops, some thought Gantin could be an ideal candidate to replace John Paul, whose health was long suffering. But the durable Polish pontiff lived much longer than many predicted, and Gantin eventually retired back to Africa...